2026 Fishing For Freedom - Quincy Event
Friday, May 29, 2026
Meet & Greet
(optional – good opportunity to meet with partner & make plans for the weekend)
Oakley Lindsay Center (300 Civic Center Plaza Quincy, IL 62301)
4pm – 8pm*
*Check-In will end at 7pm
Menu: Fried Fish, Pork, sides
Saturday, May 30, 2026
Pre-Fish – All Day
Great opportunity for Boater & Warrior to get to know each other. You will need to make your own arrangements
Check-In (2 options)
QUINCY: The Atrium on Third (201 S. 3rd St., Quincy, IL 62301) 7am – 10am
MTL/MO: St Jude’s Square Park (301 S Main St. Monroe City, MO 63456) 8am – 10am
Illinois Veterans Home Fishing Tournament – for Veterans Home Residents 1707 N 12th St Quincy, IL
8:15-8:30am – Volunteers arrive
8:45-9:15am – Volunteers bring Veterans to the pond
9:30am – National Anthem, Presentation of Colors, fishing follows
Lunch & Awards once fishing has concluded
**If anyone that isn’t fishing Saturday morning/afternoon wants to help an IL Veterans Home resident fish on the pond on their property, please register as a volunteer on our website: https://fishingforfreedomquincy.org/registration/volunteer/
Lunch
A lunch will be served at the conclusion of our Veterans Home Fishing event, around 11am (mentioned above). Boater and Warrior participants are welcome to attend the lunch and, if compelled to do so, sign up as a volunteer to bring a Veterans Home resident to the property’s pond to fish. If you would like more information, please email us at [email protected].
Menu: Hot dogs, watermelon, chips, ice cream
Heroes Banquet
The Oakley Lindsay Center (300 Civic Center Plaza Quincy, IL 62301)
Doors will Open at 4PM; Opening ceremony will begin at 4:40PM. Dinner is followed by raffles and the auction. (This event is free for Warriors/Boaters and their spouses and young children)
Menu: Roast Beef, twice baked potato, green beans, dinner roll
**Please Note: Registered participants are required to attend
the Banquet on Saturday evening and the Fishing Rodeo on SundaySunday, May 31, 2026
Shuttles
4:15am The Atrium on 3rd parking lot; Riders need to board the bus/shuttle by 4:15am
4:30am Shuttle/Bus will depart from The Atrium on 3rd hotel and drive directly to the drop off location, listed below.
Shuttle 1: Atrium Hotel to Mark Twain Lake Hwy 107 Ramp
Shuttle 2: Atrium Hotel to Hamilton, IL/Chaney Creek boat ramp
Warriors from Quality Inn, Heritage, Microtel, or Stoney Creek will need to provide their own transportation to the Atrium’s parking lot OR make arrangements with a FFF Board Member for assistance (Heritage, Microtel, & Quality are within walking distance). Shuttle 1 to MTL will be a bus; Shuttle 2 to Chaney Creek will be private transportation
Shuttles should arrive at both locations around 5:30am
Weigh-In
- Mississippi Pools 21-24 - Kesler Park (Bonansinga Dr) Quincy, IL 12:00pm
- Mississippi Pools 19-20 - Chaney Creek Boat Launch Hamilton, IL 11:30am
- Mark Twain Lake - Hwy 107 Ramp Stoutsville, MO 12:00pm
- Dralle Lake 11:00am
Lunch
Lunch will be available at the Quincy Riverfront for a free will donation. Various Food Trucks/Vendors will be present for purchases
Awards Ceremony
~3:30pm: Immediately following the final convoy going through the Quincy weigh-in
Boat Giveaway Raffle immediately following the awards presentation. All Boaters & Warriors that fished in the Sunday rodeo will automatically be entered into the drawing based on their registration timestamp.
MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN. WINNER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TAX, TITLE, LICENSE, AND TRANSPORTATION/DELIVERY.
Lodging Information
Lodging requirements for our qualified Warrior and Boater participants will be paid for in full by Fishing For Freedom - Quincy sponsors and donors.
Warriors must live more than 30 minutes from Quincy and Boaters must live more than 1 hour from Quincy to qualify for a paid room. Our registration committee will contact you with your lodging information in March.
If you have any special needs or accessibility issues, please make sure to make a note of it in the comments block on the registration form, or send us an email. There will be several special needs accessible rooms available.
If your plans change and you are unable to attend the event after making your reservation, please contact our registration committee and the hotel to cancel your reservation.
Lodging is available for Boaters that live greater than one hour away from Quincy, Illinois or Mark Twain Lake area at several different hotels in the Quincy area. Some of the locations are within view of the Mississippi River. Those that specify that a room is needed and meet the distance requirement will receive a couple of options from the registration committee of which hotels we have a block of rooms saved for the event. Registered Warriors and Registered Boaters are responsible for making their own individual reservations.
